![[South Africa] SA peacekeepers in Burundi. [2005]](https://assets.thenewhumanitarian.org/s3fs-public/styles/responsive_large_2x/public/images/20061130.jpg.webp?itok=lVGK7prm "SA peacekeepers in Burundi.")
Jan van Eck, a peace facilitator in the Great Lakes region, died from a heart attack in Cape Town on 27 January, aged 65.
Van Eck, born in Holland in 1943, arrived in South Africa in 1948, the year the National Party came to power and began instituting its apartheid policies.
A graduate of Stellenbosch University, Van Eck became involved in opposition parliamentary politics and was elected in 1986 as an MP for the Progressive Federal Party. In 1989 he joined the newly formed Democratic Party and in 1992 joined the recently unbanned African National Congress.
In 1995, Van Eck became involved in the Burundi peace process, with the assistance of the Washington-based NGO, Search for Common Ground. In 2003 the project was moved to the Pretoria-based think tank, the Institute for Security Studies (ISS).
The ISS said in a tribute on its website: "Van Eck devoted himself unselfishly to the search for an inclusive peace in Burundi. He succeeded in developing both the necessary degree of trust and perceived neutrality amongst virtually all the political role-players, regardless of their ethnic, political or military affiliation. This enabled him to play a significant role in brokering dialogue, building confidence and breaking down political and ethnic stereotypes."
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Van Eck, born in Holland in 1943, arrived in South Africa in 1948, the year the National Party came to power and began instituting its apartheid policies.
A graduate of Stellenbosch University, Van Eck became involved in opposition parliamentary politics and was elected in 1986 as an MP for the Progressive Federal Party. In 1989 he joined the newly formed Democratic Party and in 1992 joined the recently unbanned African National Congress.
In 1995, Van Eck became involved in the Burundi peace process, with the assistance of the Washington-based NGO, Search for Common Ground. In 2003 the project was moved to the Pretoria-based think tank, the Institute for Security Studies (ISS).
The ISS said in a tribute on its website: "Van Eck devoted himself unselfishly to the search for an inclusive peace in Burundi. He succeeded in developing both the necessary degree of trust and perceived neutrality amongst virtually all the political role-players, regardless of their ethnic, political or military affiliation. This enabled him to play a significant role in brokering dialogue, building confidence and breaking down political and ethnic stereotypes."
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